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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

Last weekend my Father-in-Law passed. My kids and I arrived in Chicago Thursday to find my wife and her four siblings had spent an emotion packed few days dividing up items in the house. My Brother-in-Law led me down to the basement and allowed me to choose some of Papa's tools.

Every time I use one of Papa's tools, I'll be reminded of two decades of holiday gatherings at that house, and all the people that made those times special.

Sincere condolences from Jane and me. It's really hard losing family members, and its always bittersweet to go through a family member's items after they pass.

I'm so happy that you have some of his tools and can reflect back on all the good times, each time you pull one out...I have some of my grandfather's farm tools on the wall in my rebuilding shop...aside his picture. I think daily about him, his work ethic, his sense of honor and family.

Bob, please allow me to express my condolences too. My Dad passed away 6 years ago this past January, and my grandfather has been gone 34 years this past May 10th. It leaves us with a hollow feeling, but the memories eventually filld some of the void. I also have some of the tools and other possessions of them and they grow more precious with the passing of time. There are not many days that pass that I do not think in some way of them.

Really sorry for your loss Bob. I do the same with some tools from my father and father-in-law.

On the lighter side, when we were doing our estate planning, I was shown the page where I could leave specific items to who I designate. I said, so this is where I can state that my 1/4" drive sockets and 1/2" in ratchet go to so-n-so, and my 1/2" drive sockets and 1/4" ratchet go to another...he just looked at me weird. I responded, I didn't start off with a full set of tools and this is my way of reaching out from beyond.

I have a lot of my father's tools, some he had even when I was a child and first learning to use them. I guess it'd be chauvinistic to think of it as only a "guy thing," but it is a way to feel a continued connection with Dad (who passed in 2000) and remember how he taught me skills to get by in the world.

I have some of my father's tools. I was the one who used them, perhaps even more than he did, and there is a familiarity to them that other tools cannot replace. But what I miss most about my parents is the unique makeup of their knowledge, particularly as none of my siblings and I went into their fields.

When there are discussions here about glues, for instance, I remember that when I was a child, before even white glue was commonly available, my father would bring some mysterious substances from the chemical lab where he worked, mix them up, and we would bring all our broken stuff to be glued. Nowadays we have our choice of glues that work at room temperature available everywhere, but it was a big deal in those days.